Statement on First NIH Alzheimer’s Disease Bypass Budget for Developing Effective Modes of Treatment and Prevention by FY2025

Today, NIH presented its first ever Professional Judgment Budget, commonly referred to as a Bypass Budget, for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias to the HHS Secretary’s Advisory Council on Alzheimer’s Research, Care, and Services. This plan for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 outlines the optimal approach NIH would take in an ideal world unconstrained by fiscal limitations to make real and lasting progress against this devastating group of disorders.

Through this plan, NIH is proposing an investment in hope—hope grounded in biomedical research.  Alzheimer’s disease is exacting a steep physical, emotional, and financial toll on our nation. Millions of Americans are affected by Alzheimer’s and related conditions and millions more are at risk. While we have made significant progress in our understanding of the mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease, there currently is no cure, and no treatments have been conclusively proven to prevent or delay its course. If tangible progress is not made in the coming years, the human and economic costs will be staggering.  We believe that if we expand and build upon our base of scientific knowledge, we can identify and implement the strategies for combating Alzheimer’s disease that are so desperately needed.

The U.S. Congress has asked NIH to prepare this Bypass Budget, which includes a set of specific, targeted milestones; areas poised for future discoveries; and areas of research that stand to benefit the most from intensified investment in FY 2017.  This plan envisions that NIH could significantly accelerate progress against Alzheimer’s disease with an additional investment of $323 million in FY 2017 above the agency’s base appropriation. The Bypass Budget will be updated annually through FY 2025, which is the target date set by the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease for developing effective modes of treatment and prevention.

Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias pose a formidable challenge to our nation’s health and economic well-being. With science at our side, NIH stands ready and willing to take on that challenge.

Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D.
Director, National Institutes of Health